Afghan air raid kills up to 80 Taleban, at least 16 civilians

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?xfile=data/subcontinent/2006/May/subcontinent_May785.xml§ion=subcontinent&col=

KANDAHAR - Up to 80 Taleban rebels and at least 16 civilians were killed on Monday during a coalition air and ground attack on a village in southern Afghanistan, officials and witnesses said.

The US-led coalition said it called in warplanes after troops who were trying to capture insurgents in Kandahar province came under fire, while a governor said some of the militants had hidden in local people’s houses.

Bloodied men, women and children who streamed into a nearby hospital using vehicles that withstood the bombing said dozens of civilians died and scores more were wounded. snip

“There were reports that the Taleban were in this village but when the US planes started bombardment the Taleban used the people’s houses as a front -- that’s why there were civilian casualties,” Khalid said at the main hospital in Kandahar city, 35 kilometres (20 miles) east of the bombed area.

An elderly man, Attah Mohammad, told an AFP correspondent at the hospital that 24 members of his family, including some children, were killed in the bombing.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

1. Iran will be much neater..... not so many parts to

pick up and all

[KoKo]

3. Remember in all the "Red Death Spew" ...Bush said: Who cares we'll

all be dead.

Dead and Dying and Dead.... We tried we did everything we could..but this "red stain" will NOT fall on my shoulders with guilt.

[mike_c]

2. I wonder what's the basis for distinguishing between "Taliban..."

...and "civilians?" I mean, if they bombed a town in Alabama, would they report the loss of life as "Baptists and civilians?" Were the Taliban in Taliban uniforms? Could they be distinguished unambiguously from "civilians?" Were the civilians "non-Taliban?" Just what does that mean in a Pashtun village?

In other words, I think there is a strong disinformation component in operation.